A rapist who had previously been dubbed East Lancashire’s “most dangerous sex attacker” has been jailed again after another of his victims came forward.

Shaun Collins, also known as Shaun Greenwood, is already serving a life sentence for three historical rapes.

But today, after being found guilty of two counts of rape, and pleading guilty to one count of indecent assault, Collins was jailed for a further 12 years.

The 58-year-old was originally sentenced in 2006 for three attacks, including the rape of a teenager from Great Harwood on her birthday in 2002.

During that hearing, police voiced fears that he had been carrying out undetected date-rape sex attacks since 1998.

At the time, Det Insp Neil Hunter said: "I think Shaun Greenwood is probably the most dangerous person that we have had in Lancashire who has not killed.”

However, in today’s sentencing at Burnley Crown Court, it was revealed that Collins had been committing such acts as far back as the 1980s.

READ MORE: Secret life of rapist

The most recent charges came to light in 2020 after another of his victims came forward stating he had raped her when she was just 15-years-old.

Antony Longworth, prosecuting, said that the two had met while Collins had been busking in Burnley in the 1980s, when he was around 19.

On one occasion, Collins took the girl back to his flat and forced her onto the bed, holding down her arm.

The court heard she tried to stop him but said she was not strong enough, and he attacked her on the bed.

Mr Longworth, reading the girl’s account, said: “She wasn’t ready for it. She was begging him not to, ‘please no, please no, I don’t want to do that’.

“He said, ‘you’ll get used to us and you will like that.’”

The court was told that in a second incident, the victim said Collins ignored her struggles and pleas, and forced himself on her.

Reading the girl's account again, Mr Longworth said: “I didn’t want to do it. He ignored my struggles and pleading.

“I said ‘please don’t, I don’t want to, I don’t want to do anything, please don’t’.”

Mr Longworth told the court Collins was stronger than his victim and she was not able to stop him, and on that occasion, he held her arms and legs down and raped her.

The court was told Collins raped her 10 more times over a 10-month period.

Defending, Roger Wilson said that prison has been ‘hard’ on Collins, especially the past two years during the coronavirus pandemic.

He argued that Collins was young at the time of the incidents saying: “He was frank from the outset – he said he had sex with her and that she was under 16.

“He will remain in custody now for longer than he was hoping.

“He was hopeful to be released in March 2022, but that had to take a different course of events due to this.”

Jailing him for 12 years, Judge Sara Dodd said during his trial, Collins accepted that the pair did have sex but always denied that he raped her – saying he had ‘distorted sexual thinking’.

Judge Dodd said: “You were her first sexual experience, and she had no understanding of what was right.

"This offending has and continued to have a severe psychological effect on her.

“This offence dates back to the 1980s.

“In June 2002 and 2005, you raped three women in three separate incidents – all strangers to you.

“You have not been released from that sentence.

“In your trial, you did not at any time admit you raped her.

“You told the jury that all sexual contact between you was consensual.”

Collins, formerly of Lisbon Drive, Burnley, will remain on the sexual offender notification regime for life and must serve two thirds of the 12 years before he is eligible to apply for parole.